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A Reflection on the Community of St. Malachi LogoOne of the most striking images of the Community for me this past year has been our logo-the tree. On Thanksgiving Eve, 2007, we filled the branches of our tree with leaves of thankfulness. As you can imagine, they ranged from gratitude for the people in our lives to specific blessings and just a pure sense of gratefulness for life. As we have entered this year of preparation for a Cluster plan, I have often thought of those expressions of thankfulness and the "tree" on which they rest. Since its beginning, the CSM tree logo has changed in shape and design several times. Just as most trees in the natural environment grow, add branches and foliage, as well as develop new shapes, ours has done the same. The symbolism of our logo reminds us of the challenges ahead as well as all that has been "community" for years. As you read this report which gives some insight into the growth, needs and open spaces for the Community of St. Malachi this past year, keep the tree in mind. As good stewards of our faith life, where do we need to most tend the life of the Community? Kay Vine
THE COMMUNITY OF ST. MALACHIThe Community of St. Malachi came to be because of the efforts of a dedicated group of laity who came together to better respond to their baptismal call, to more fully witness to the mandates of the Second Vatican Council, to serve as a model for a parish self-governed by its members, and to live out the mission of the Gospel. "Statement of Purpose" The Community of St. Malachi Charter Revised in April 2007, Printed 2008 This 2008 Annual Report is a reflection on the life of the Community of St. Malachi during the past year. Each section focuses on the various ways that Community members shared their time, talent and treasurer as they fulfilled their commitment to the Community and responded to their baptismal call. In publishing this Annual Report, it is the intent of the Community Council to provide a "snapshot" of the life of the Community and its members.
SUMMARY of 2007-08 CSM COUNCIL ACTIVITIES and DECISIONSThe 2007-2008 Community Council has met nine times this year. At each meeting the Council members took time to pray and to share hospitality in addition to conducting the business and making decisions on behalf of the Community. Reports from the Standing Committees provided highlights at many ministries. All seven of the Community's Standing Committees have been very active and engaged this past year. The Standing Committee reports listed below show the significant efforts of each committee to fulfill its own goals. Many of the Council meetings also included a guest speaker from one of the related ministries or other groups so that Council members could deepen their insights into the various ministries and projects connected to the Community. The Council also appointed a liaison with the Monday Night Meal program as a way to re-connect with that program and clarify our relationship. The Council appointed five Community representatives: Kay Vine, Karen Duffy, Bob Simoneau, Fr. Tony Schuerger, and Jim Connell to represent the Community in the Cluster process. The Community of St. Malachi is part of a cluster with three other parishes: St. Malachi, St. Patrick and St. Wendelin. The Council received regular updates regarding the Cluster activities and process. The Council also sponsored opportunities for Community members to provide input to the five Community representatives on the Cluster team. In addition to printed updates distributed regarding Cluster activities, a special Community meeting, additional discussion at the Annual meeting and a feedback form for getting input were also ways for Community members to share their thoughts. Additional meetings will continue to be scheduled so that Community members are kept informed regarding cluster activities and decisions. At the Annual Meeting in 2007, the Community made significant changes to its Charter. All recommended changes were approved and the Council used the revised Charter as a basis for its operation this year. All Community members received copies of the revised Charter at the Annual Meeting in 2008. At the February Council meeting, the Council spent some time in a self assessment activity. Two questions were posed: What are we doing well? and What could we be doing better? The following thoughts were shared in response to the question, What are we doing well? Announcements at Sunday Mass, Sensitive to lots of views/people, Committees working together, Committees regularly meeting/active/engaging people, Good Spiritual Development offerings (diverse), My Church is up and running, Generosity of resources/sharing, Christian Formation Program Strengths/kids are visible, CSM involvement with the Center, Growth in liturgy; sharing between parish and Community; and the cluster, Cluster Communication, Calling forth talent in music: children, bell choir, Commitment of the Musicians, and Open House for the Church during neighborhood tours. The following thoughts were shared in response to the question, What could we be doing better: Person doing the announcements and communion reflections should give their name, Need more communion reflections, Need to always emphasize that everyone is welcome, Need to get more people involved with the mart (especially shopping there), Need to continue our welcome/outreach, We fail to draw out all age ranges for leadership positions, Not engaging community in social action/social outreach/social justice issues, More involvement in social justice is needed, Networking, Day to day administration, Evolution of lay-directed concept, Rehearsal of new songs/warm up for singing, Getting committee members, Volunteers for light housekeeping/driving are not being requested, Education/formation on stewardship (we presume too much/faith response), Affirming peoples' vocations and church vocations, Collaboration of the Council/Community/Staff, Getting neighbors more involved, Evangelization. The items were not ranked by order of importance. These lists provide good information and direction for the current Council and for next year's Council.
SUMMARY REPORT for STANDING COMMITTEESChristian FormationIn 2007-2008 The Christian Formation program enrolled 117 students in classes from kindergarten through 12th grade. Grades K-8 meets on Sunday morning on the St. Malachi campus and the high school students meet on Sunday evenings at the Burke's home in Lakewood. All the teaching staff are fingerprinted and attended Virtus training. Seventeen students from the high school group and three adults attended the National Catholic Youth Conference in Columbus, Ohio, November 8-11, 2007. RETREATS: 10 students and 5 adults attended the High School retreat in March. 12 students, 5 high school retreat team students, and 7 adults attended the Junior High retreat in April. Both retreats were held at the St. Leonard Retreat Center in Avon. SACRAMENTS: 8 CHILDREN PARTICIPATED IN First Reconciliation in December. 11 children will be receiving their First Communion on April 27th.
COMMUNICATIONSThis year the Community and the Communications Committee saw the "retirement" of our esteemed Newsletter editor Mary Englert. Her service exceeds any words that could describe our gratitude. Without hesitation, Nadge Herceg stepped into the role and has done an outstanding job as our Newsletter editor. The Communications Committee has also begun using new software called iContact to send out all electronic versions of the Newsletter, Communio and prayer and funeral alerts. This has greatly decreased the amount of time for this task as well as decreased the number of inaccurate email addresses. We can also actively measure our email open rates, which consistently see over 40% open rate (this is a VERY high industry number). We are currently still in the process of encouraging the use of MyChurch. This is a website where members of the Community can communicate with each other, post messages, blog, or make other announcements. We currently have 38 members and are looking for more. Our goal for this next year is to get up to 100. We see online networks like MyChurch being a key part of the future communications and development of the Community.
HOSPITALITYThe Hospitality Committee has continued its welcoming mission. This year we sponsored receptions following Remembrance Sunday, Thanksgiving Liturgy, Epiphany and the Easter Vigil. We are also building up a core of refreshment-providers who can be called on to supply refreshments for Community functions.
LITURGYThe Liturgy Committee met regularly (monthly) to discuss the Sunday liturgy, the seasonal liturgies and the operation of the ministries. An additional ministry overseen by the committee is the planning of wakes and funerals. This is coordinated by Kay Vine. Two extended meetings were held in the summer to discern and clarify the goals and objectives of the committee and the values they embody. Jim Connell and Lou Keim facilitated the process. An ongoing task of the committee is to refine this information. Some changes instituted at Sunday liturgy included defining the time for announcements and when to stand and sit during the Communion Rite. Seasonal liturgies were planned with joint sharing of the parish and community. Members of the committee attended the Diocesan workshop on the Communion Rite held at St Ann's last Spring. Another event attended was the lecture by Cardinal Donneels at St Peter's last Fall An afternoon of recollection entitle "Liturgical Hospitality" was provided for all liturgical ministers, on Feb. 9. It was led by Sr. Pat Kozak, CSJ. Our cluster parishes were also invited and several people attend from each of those parishes. The committee worked hard this year to see that all special liturgies and seasons had adequate planning and attention. Mike Petit conducted several workshops for new lectors over the past year. Pam Pulizzi continued to schedule Eucharistic Ministers and to work with Sunday sacristans. As a reflective and educational piece, we have been reflecting on an article from America on the state of the liturgy since Vatican II by Cardinal Donneels of Belgium.
MEMBERSHIPThe Community of St. Malachi had a membership of 376 members this year. The CSM Membership Committee was able to attract many new members with a very commanding presence at our coffee hour after the 11:00 Mass. This membership table enabled individuals to receive information concerning membership to the CSM. This year we established "Welcome Sunday" which was held just before the Advent and Lenten seasons. They proved to be a successful way to welcome the newcomers as well as provide returning members a chance to talk with the different CSM ministries and committees to renew their pledges or to select new opportunities for volunteerism. We enjoyed our first "Recommitment Sunday Brunch," which was a huge success in recognizing the importance of recommitting to our ministries and also to celebrate our members who make the Mission of the Community of St. Malachi possible.
SOCIAL ACTIONThe Social Action Committee and St. Malachi's Center initiated a Furniture Ministry with the Cleveland Furniture Bank. During Advent we sponsored a Creche giving program for clothing needed by the Center shower program. A Donation of $300.00 was made to the Somalian Family which is mentored by three members of the Community. The committee also supported and advertised the three programs held in Cleveland on Human Trafficking.
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENTThe Spiritual Development Committee, working with other committees and the Holy Spirit, brought a speaker series, prayer groups, and events to the people of St. Malachi. We have a speaker series Being the People of God, Answering Our Baptismal Call. The first half of the series explained the theology and documentation from which the Church calls us to be people of God. We will learn how to implement these ideas in Church and every day life in the next series of talks in the next two months. Six prayer groups, all using different forms of prayer started. Five of the groups meet in the Church on Wednesday evenings. Sacred Space the Book by the Irish Jesuits and the People's Companion to the Breviary published by the Carmelites of Indianapolis are the sources for The Presence of God on the first Wednesday of the month. The second group is Taizé Prayer, a meditative, candlelit service including simple chants sung repeatedly, rich silence and prayers of praise and intercession. Bridges of Contemplation, edited by Robert G. Toth, the executive director of The Merton Institute, is the source of material for the prayer group of the same name on the third Wednesday of each month. The fourth Wednesday is Praying with the Labyrinth, outdoors when appropriate, indoors with hand-held Labyrinths when the weather is inclement. The fifth Wednesday of the month is Eucharistic Adoration. This is time for prayer and silence in the presence of the Holy Eucharist. The sixth prayer group is for women on Wednesday mornings, using the psalms and prayers from the People's Companion to the Breviary as a basis for reflection and discussion. During Lent, we provided Praying with the Stations, an opportunity for reflection about the relevance of the Stations to social justice today. Before the end of the fiscal year, we will have a reflection day for the women at St. Malachi's about early women Church leaders. We also prayerfully supported the men's retreat Every Man's Walk, MALE Spirit Retreat for Men. We offered invitations to attend spiritually uplifting events as community to the Commission On Catholic Community Action Annual Peace & Justice Awards Dinner and Prayer and Poverty at Ursuline College. In addition, the Christian Formation Committee invited us to facilitate reflections for the parents of the children in Christian Formation.
SUMMATION of the SACRAMENTAL LIFE of the COMMUNITYDuring the 2007-2008 Council year the following sacraments were administered or will be administered prior to the end of the year.
FINANCE COUNCIL REPORTAt the end of this report is the Financial Report as of March 31, 2008, which includes the Fiscal Year 2007-2008 Budget as approved by the CSM Finance Council and Council. At first glance it would appear that our financial situation is very close to that of the previous year. However, this is somewhat misleading. This year's collections to date include one more week than last year, and include the Easter collection. Actually we are about $5,000 behind last year in regular Sunday collections and well below budget. This is not completely surprising, since the 2007-2008 roster shows 25 fewer households than the previous year. While we are still meeting expenses, we are making no progress in strengthening our reserves, which should be a minimum of three months of operating costs. On the good news side, the school rental income has allowed us to replace our boiler, begin to pay down our assessment debt, and build a little reserve. Expenses are rising across the board and we continue to need everyone's support for the Community to meet its obligations and do the things we feel are important for our mission. In developing next year's budget proposal, which will be presented to the Council and Community in May, the Finance Council will strive to keep expenses as close as possible to this year's level.
RELATED MINISTRIESThe Community of St. Malachi continued its support for other ministries and programs by making an annual contribution to these ministries. In the budget, these ministries are described as the Related Ministries. They are The St. Malachi Center is also supported by the Community; it is a separate budget allocation. See the budget for more information on the CSM contribution to St. Malachi Center and the report below for the work of the Center.
OTHER REPORTS
REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY TASK ON SEX ABUSE IN THE CHURCHThe Community's task Force on Sex Abuse in the Church continued to meet throughout the past year. Our mission remains to keep the Community abreast of developments both local and in the wider Church and to attempt to keep Community members informed about this situation, whose continuing effects are far from being resolved. The task force's repeated requests for a meeting with diocesan officials have met with no response. The hope of the task force was to express our concerns and to learn more about the reasons for what has occurred in this diocese, the financial implications, what is being done for the victims and any actions regarding the priests who have been suspended, and what steps are being taken to avoid further scandals of this and other kind. The Task Force presented a film that detailed what happened to a young boy and his family at the hands of an abusive priest in the Boston Archdiocese and the response of archdiocesan officials. We also hosted a talk by Fr. Thomas Doyle, OP, who is probably the leading authority on the subject of sexual abuse in the Church. A snowstorm on the evening of the talk unfortunately greatly reduced the attendance, but Fran DeChant's summary which appeared in "Communio," (March 23, 2008) is an excellent report of Father Doyle's important message. You are encouraged to read it if you have not already done so.
ST. MALACHI CENTERThe past year was another year of interesting opportunity and new challenges for St Malachi Center. The Center maintained a high level of program activity including the Shower Program, Partners for Progress, and the After School Program. St. Malachi Center serves an average of 30-40 individuals during the Shower Program. Not only do these individuals receive a shower (and perhaps some dignity), they also receive conversation and a "hand up" from the Shower Coordinator and Care Alliance. Fifty-four families received tutoring for GED plus job and parenting skills as the newest program, Partners for Progress continues to grow. The After School Program, whose curriculum includes homework help, snacks, and FUN, serves over 50 children daily. There is a core of over 25 volunteers, "Reading Buddies," who help the children with their homework and reading. There are many other programs that serve as outreach for these and help the Center maintain its neighborhood identity. From an organization perspective, St Malachi Center has moved into the implementation phase of its 5 year Strategic Plan. It was nearly ten years since St Malachi Center began its last strategic plan. The strategic planning process was implemented to address this concern. Stakeholders represented included clients, staff, volunteers, founding members, board members and collaborative partners. The revised mission statement is St. Malachi Center empowers the individual, nurtures the family, and builds the community. However, St Malachi Center continues to struggle financially. This fiscal year the Center is projecting a deficit of $50,000. One way to help is by shopping at the Mart. Too often the perception is that the Mart's goods are only for the poor of the neighborhood. The reality is that by supporting the Mart one insures that it remains a viable ministry to the neighborhood and a funding source for the Center. There is also some good financial news to report. Edward E. Kral, a retired Cleveland Schools Administrator recognized St. Malachi Center efforts by challenging us to raise $10,000 that he would then match. The Endowment Fund Challenge was announced at Soup for the Soul 2008 and was met that same night. A person, who prefers to remain anonymous, was so moved by the response to initial challenge that he pledged $10,000 to the Endowment Fund with the condition that this $10,000 also be matched.
MALACHI MARTMalachi Mart, a subsidiary retail effort of St. Malachi Center, was established in 1990 to provide low-cost goods to the residents of St. Malachi's neighborhood as well as Church members. It was originally established to create an ongoing income stream to fund programs at the Center. As time passed, the mission of the Mart has expanded to provide a rich diversity of services such as job training, cut-rate alternative shopping, and a supportive presence to many in the immediate neighborhood. Malachi Mart, located at 1303 Washington Ave., offers an array of health and beauty items, toys, greeting cards/wrap, paper and cleaning products, food items, as well as an assortment of household and sundry products. Malachi Mart also serves as another type of bond between St. Malachi Center and its mission to empower the individual, nurture the family, and build the community. During this past year, the Malachi Mart Advisory Board worked closely with the Mart and Center staff as well as a business class at Notre Dame College to develop a marketing plan as a follow up to the business plan created with support from Baldwin Wallace College the previous year. The marketing plan was kicked off at a special event last summer to reopen the Mart after an expansion and redecorating effort.
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